Snakes Alive
I have always been terrified of snakes, though I know they are in fact said to be more scared of us than we realise.
One of the certainties of living in this remote area of Australia however, is that sooner or later one is bound to encounter one of several varieties of snake.
At the moment there are little green frogs around at night – quite delightful with their huge blinking eyes. One might encounter such a treat sitting on top of the toilet cistern, or inside the toilet bowl, or, like I did last night, clinging to my shoe as I walked away from the bathroom, which by the way, is outside the house.
Apparently it’s a good sign when the frogs are still around because snakes love to eat them, so at the moment at least, it appears there are no snakes lurking too close to the house.
Wrong! My son told me that he very nearly got bitten by a brown snake just yesterday, fairly close to the house.
As I walked along Cable Beach the other morning, I received a warning from a passing jogger who said there was a sea snake on the beach that was very definitely alive and making its way slowly back into the water.
I was told by the man putting out the beach chairs and umbrellas that sometimes the sea snakes come ashore when they are sick … or to shed their skins …
Sea snakes are highly venomous so I kept my distance, however I have seen another since. Yet despite this, the locals will tell you it’s quite OK to swim in the sea at the moment, and the surf patrol people are still setting up each day and putting out the flags to define the ‘safe’ swimming area.
It’s a beautiful time of year in Broome. Both the sea and the sky are azure blue, the days are sunny and clear and the evenings and mornings quite cool.
Cable Beach ‘North of the Rocks’
These photos show the famous nudist beach ‘North of the Rocks’. The tide is out, exposing the rocks (but at the time I was there, not the nudists!)
The Kimberley coast has the biggest tides in the Southern Hemisphere, so it’s a good idea to know the tide times to avoid getting marooned. At low tide you can drive onto the beach and at sunset the beach is dotted with four wheel drive vehicles parked on the sand and people sitting at their tables and chairs enjoying drinks and nibbles, playing with their kids or even going for a quick swim.
I enjoyed a late afternoon cool drink today at the beautiful Cable Beach Club Resort with Val, a friend of a friend in New South Wales, about to board a cruise to Darwin.
That’s one of the great things about Broome – I get to meet and chat with friends and even strangers escaping the cold winter climes. More ‘snake’ stories to tell …
3 Comments
I agree with you about the snakes! As to swimming with them…..what with the crocs, the stingers, the blue ringed octopus, the sharks…….no worries, mate.
Hmm, me worries though …
Yes you don’t mess with sea snakes. I remember seeing one on the beach at Fraser Island Qld years ago. Was told by a local if bitten you have about 5 min before you die. Oh well Tina that’s our beautiful country Australia, we have it all x Linda